Wizzlethorpe's Research Challenge

Updated

Setting: Potions Classroom, one week after the field trip. Students are seated at bubbling cauldrons, surrounded by faintly dangerous fumes.

Read Aloud:

A loud POP echoes through the stone chamber, and a charred scroll unspools across the floor. Moments later, Wizzlethorpe bursts in—robe sleeves scorched, spectacles cracked, and hair trailing magical sparks.

“Terribly sorry—I could have sworn I added the sneezewort. Or was it a jobberknoll feather I missed?”

(He drops a crate of strange books onto the desk with a loud thud.)

“Never mind! It’s time for your first academic challenge.”

“You’ll each produce a magical research report. Something... original.”

“You may use school resources. Or not. Don’t be afraid to bend the rules! The winning group will earn 25 House Points and a powerful magical item from my personal collection.”

“I leave for Nurmengard tomorrow—screaming ruins, long story. Due in two weeks. Good luck not setting yourselves on fire!”

Research Topics

Players roll 1d4 (or choose) to draw a scroll from a magical goblet that assigns their topic:

  1. The Wandless Century – 1100s European movement to cast without wands
  2. Pre-Hogwarts Magical Architecture – vanished structures older than Hogwarts
  3. Unfinished Spells – incantations erased or abandoned
  4. Talking Herbs – ethical dilemmas of using sentient magical plants in alchemy

Clue System

Players must explore Hogwarts over several days. Each topic has 3 clues, one of which is hidden in the Restricted Section and worth 3d4 knowledge points. Other clues grant 1d4 knowledge points.

NPC students work in groups on the remaining topics. Player groups track knowledge gathered to improve their report.

Topic: The Wandless Century

  • Clue 1: Ancient tapestry in Ravenclaw Common Room

    Depicts wizards casting magic without wands, with a warning:
    “And thus in freedom did magic surge, unchained from core and wood. Beware the power uncontained.”

  • Clue 2: Professor Binns' lecture

    Mentions a failed wandless uprising near Rouen in 1187, resulting in instability and disaster.

  • Clue 3: Cracked memorial stone near Old Courtyard

    Directs seekers to The Unfettered Hand in the Restricted Section.

Topic: Pre-Hogwarts Magical Architecture

  • Clue 1: Glowing runes beneath the Astronomy Tower

    Reference Druidic alignment stones older than the castle foundation.

  • Clue 2: Portrait of Lady Edith Whitlock in the Great Hall

    Complains that ancestral magical halls were destroyed to build Hogwarts.

  • Clue 3: Stone archway in the Forbidden Forest

    Inscription references Ruins Before Hogwarts, hidden in the Restricted Section.

Topic: Unfinished Spells

  • Clue 1: Graffiti in Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom

    Refers to dangerous spells abandoned mid-development.

  • Clue 2: Scorched notebook in Defense Against the Dark Arts

    Mentions “Umbraverto,” a banned shadow spell removed from all records.

  • Clue 3: Enchanted quill in Flitwick’s office

    Repeatedly writes cryptic warnings; hints at Whispers of the Void in the Restricted Section.

Topic: Talking Herbs

  • Clue 1: Carving in Herbology Greenhouse

    “Mandrake justice now!”—a message suggesting magical plants are aware of their treatment.

  • Clue 2: Professor Sprout’s private comments

    Hints at the suffering of magical plants and ethical consequences.

  • Clue 3: Talking shrub near Hagrid’s Hut

    Cries for help, mentions Crying Roots: Ethical Alchemy hidden in the Restricted Section.

Rewards

In a glass case at the front of the classroom.
Identify with DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana or History).

  • Baruffio's Brain Elixir
  • Bag of Tricks (Tan) (Miriam)
  • ~~Dust of Disappearance ~~ ()

Student Speculation (Overheard Rumors)

  • Tamsin: “It’s definitely the Brain Elixir. Could explain why Wizzlethorpe talks like a racing broom.”
  • Callum: “I’d bet it’s all bait. But if that’s the Bag of Tricks... imagine transfiguring one into fireworks.”
  • Elias: “My family has something like that bag. Rare. Powerful. Useful to the right people.”
  • Juniper: “One sip makes you brilliant, second sip—ferret. Classic curse cocktail.”
  • Declan: “Heard it’s vanishing powder. Prefects will never see me in the kitchen again.”
  • Isolde: “That bag’s got creatures, I just know it. Maybe puffskeins or a pocket kneazle.”
  • Thad: “It sparkled when someone said brains. It’s the Elixir. Or a potion that lets you talk to badgers.”
  • Miriam: “I submitted a safety request. I suspect it’s Dust of Disappearance—highly regulated.”

The Change in Prim

During the project window, students may notice a strange shift in Primrose Calloway. She no longer makes trivia references, sits alone, and seems distant. Even portraits say she looks... faded.

Ways to Notice

  • Passive Perception 13+ or Perception DC 12 (Night): See Prim sneaking out or returning after curfew
  • Insight DC 14: She’s not just sad—she’s hiding something
  • Sleight of Hand + Investigation (DC 14): Steal or locate her diary page

Diary Page (Partial Text):

“He needs me to find it. It’s under Hogwarts. They’ll try to stop me. I have to be faster.”
(Repeated at the bottom): “path revealed path revealed path revealed”

Bonus Clue: Letter in the Hallway

If a player succeeds a Perception DC 16, they may see Prim crumple a parchment and toss it aside.

The Letter Reads:

“You’ve done well. They don’t understand. You have to be brave. The map is nearly complete. One more page. Don’t trust the others.”